Dream of swimming with dolphins? Think again as travel company drops tours amid cruelty fears

An incredible picture of a pine marten dangling from a moss-covered tree has won an annual photo competition to celebrate British mammals - Ben Porter/Bav Media

Dolphin and elephant tourism is under threat, it has emerged, as Britain's second largest travel company is dropping tours to animal attractions over welfare fears.

A damning independent report commissioned by Thomas Cook found dolphins with badly damaged skin and elephants which were being kept in cruel conditions.

The Sunday Times reported that some elephants were heavily chained and showing distress signs, with others were forced to spin hoops, stand on small platforms and take part in a "tug-of- war". The audit of 25 attractions by assessment company Global Spirit found that 16 did not meet the minimum standards for welfare set out by Abta, the UK travel industry trade body.

Thomas Cook has now taken the decision to stop selling tickets to these attractions, of which 11 involved dolphins and five involved elephants.

Badly treated rescued elephants at the Wildlife SOS sanctuary outside Agra India with their newly knitted jumpers are on show for the first time, they are all effected by the cold after their ordeal at the hands of owners Credit: Roger Allen

It refused to specify the welfare infringements found at individual attractions, but confirmed that those to be dropped include Ocean World in the Dominican Republic and Sealanya in Turkey, which offer dolphin swimming experiences and shows, and elephant rides provided by Baan Chang tours on Koh Samui, Thailand. Others in India and Cuba will also be dropped.

Peter Fankhauser, the company's chief executive, said: "Our industry has not changed fast enough. By taking these attractions off sale, we are sending a message that we won't accept anything less than full compliance with the welfare standards our customers would expect."

The move has been welcomed by animal welfare groups, which have long campaigned against captive animal tourism.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation group said: "We are delighted Thomas Cook appears to be taking this issue seriously. Many other travel companies are not, and many facilities continue to flout the Abta animal welfare guidelines."

Atlantic bottlenose dolphinCredit: Stephen Frink

An inspection of Ocean World in 2009 by the World Society for the Protection of Animals  now known as World Animal Protection  found dolphins held alone in a shallow tank for 30 minutes, surrounded by 20 people, forced to "hug" and "shake hands" with each tourist in turn. The report alleged that 39pc of the attraction's dolphins were captured from the wild.

Virgin Holidays recently announced it would no longer sell or promote new shows or experiences featuring whales 2,000 Estimated number of dolphins held in more than 300 attractions around the world or dolphins, but Thomas Cook is the first big name in the industry to drop existing attractions.

The 25 inspections were carried out by Global Spirit last year and are the start of a programme to audit all of the 90 captive animal attractions Thomas Cook sells. The move is likely to be costly for the high-street travel giant, which makes commission on tickets sold as excursions to holidaymakers in its hotels.

The five named attractions dropped by Thomas Cook were asked for comment but did not respond. The Thai embassy in London told The Sunday Times: "It is illegal in Thailand to maltreat elephants and legal charges may be brought against those involved.

"Elephant camps are one means through which elephants can be properly cared for. Without work in tourism, coupled with the banning of logging in protected forest areas in Thailand, elephant owners will have no means to care for their animals, and will resort to street begging."